Eagles, Lehigh have more in common than just the same training facilities

I was here in Philly on this memorable Sunday night and for the second time in as many days I witnessed a game that came down to a field goal attempt on the last play.

The one I saw on Saturday afternoon at Lehigh was good, giving the Mountain Hawks a three-point win over Fordham.

The one I saw tonight at the Linc was short, leaving the Eagles with another narrow escape and a 19-17 win.

And it occured to me that these two teams, the Eagles and Lehigh, have a lot in common besides the fact that both know their way around the Bethlehem campus.

The Mountain Hawks are 5-0, the Eagles are 3-1, and we really don't know how good either one of them really are.

Lehigh could very well be 1-4 and the Eagles could be 0-4, and yet they are both in good shape as we turn the calendar to October because they have been able to fight through their inconsistencies and win close games with big plays late.

I don't know how the season will turn out for either of them, but they have been equal parts exciting and exasperating to this point.

The feeling is that both can play much better than they have, and once they do, look out.

Then again, they have both shown enough flaws and vulnerability that you wonder when some of their problems could catch up to them.

Both teams have quarterbacks with the first name of Michael and both QBs are confident, talented guys who can pass and run and lead their teams. And frankly, both are operating behind injury-plagued offensive lines.

As long as Michael Vick and Michael Colvin can limit their mistaskes, the wins will keep coming for their teams.

Vick sounded a lot like Colvin on Sunday night when he said: "Every game is not going to be perfect and it's not always going to be a situation where things come easy. We struggled in the beginning., Our offensive line jelled together and we really challenged one another to get better throughout the course of the game. I'm extremely proud of those guys that did that."

And Andy Reid sounded like Lehigh's head coach, also with a first name of Andy, when he said: "The guys are battling. These are good football teams we're playing against. I like the personality of the team and I like the girt. They are willing to fight."

Things are going to get tougher for both of these brand of birds.

The Eagles have the Steelers and Falcons in October. The Mountain Hawks have tough road games against Georgetown, Holy Cross and Lafayette all still to come.

But for right now, it looks as though this could be a special football season for Lehigh and the team that calls Lehigh home for a few weeks every summer.